Mount Fuji Key Facts & Information: • Mount Fuji is located on Honshu Island, Japan, near the Pacific Coast. • It is one of Japan’s ‘Three Holy Mountains’, alongside Mount Haku and Mount Tate. • In Japan, Mount Fuji is called ‘Fujisan’. • Mount Fuji is 3,766.24 meters high (12,389.2 feet). • It is the highest mountain in Japan. • The summit of Mount Fuji has a tundra climate and is usually covered in snow. In winter it can be as cold as -21°C, and in summer it reaches around 7°C. • At the summit where the volcano’s crater is, there are eight peaks. • The crater of Mount Fuji is around 500 meters (1,600 feet) wide. Location, History & Geography: • There are three cities that surround Mount Fuji: Gotemba, Fujiyoshida and Fujinomiya. • There are five lakes around Mount Fuji: Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Motosu, Lake Sai, Lake Yamanaka and Lake Shoji. • Mount Fuji is an active composite volcano that last erupted in 1707. It has been classified as being at ‘low risk’ of erupting again, despite recent nearby earthquakes which often signal that an eruption is imminent. • Mount Fuji is 100km southwest of Japan’s capital, Tokyo, and can be seen from the city on a clear day. • Mount Fuji has been classified as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty because of how symmetrical the mountain looks. • Mount Fuji is also on the UNESCO World Heritage List. • The summit of Mount Fuji has always been regarded as sacred. • The first person to climb Mount Fuji was a Buddhist monk in 663 AD. • The first outsider to climb Mount Fuji was Sir Rutherford Alcock, a British diplomat, in 1868. • These days, hundreds of thousands of people ascend Mount Fuji each year. • People can only climb Mount Fuji in July and August. • Because of how sacred the summit is considered, women were forbidden from climbing Mount Fuji until the last 19th Century. • Between 1932 and 2004, there was a manned weather station on Mount Fuji. The Sacred Mountain: • The indigenous inhabitants of ancient Japan, called the Ainu, considered it sacred. Mt. Fuji’s name may be derived from Fuchi, the Ainu god of fire and the hearth. • By the 12th century, Mt. Fuji became a destination for those practising asceticism (shugendo), seeking a rebirth from their time on the mountain. • Eight major shrines were built around the foot of the mountain and hundreds of smaller ones have since been added. The most popular shrine was first constructed in 806 C.E. The Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha was originally founded during the reign of Emperor Suinin. • Mt. Fuji is also believed to be a gathering point for the spirits of deceased ancestors, and prayers are offered to them as well as blessings for safety from volcanic eruption, fire, and during childbirth. • The mountain not only has its own shrines but there are over 13,000 shrines spread across Japan dedicated to Fujisan. .